Not since Olympian Bill Bradley fled Princeton three years ago has the Ivy League been in such a dither. A week from Saturday his University--perennial League champions--clashes with powerful upstart Columbia for the loop lead and national prominence.

Last Saturday, Columbia avenged an early season loss to Cornell by smashing the Big Red in a regionally-televised game. The Lion's awesome all-around performance got lost in the UCLA-Houston extravaganza that night, but it combined effective shooting and rebounding with a tight man-to-man defense.

Columbia has the height to battle Princeton. Dave Newmark--a boyhood chum of former Harvard captain Gene Dressler, has an unusually soft touch for a big man and may neutralize the Tigers' Chris Thomforde underneath.

Newmark is a giant but he has some more mortal-sized companions who may be the key to a Columbia title. Against Cornell two sophomores, Jim McMillian and Al Dotson, knifed at will through the Big Red defense and then inflicted innumerable humiliations on the Ithacan offense. The final element in the Lion victory was the hot shooting of 6-3 junior Roger Walaszek.

This is a very good Columbia team. But Princeton is not yet ready to give up the title it has held for so long. Thomforde and 6-7 John Hummer rebound aggressively and the Tigers have a competent shooter-playmaker in captain Joe Heiser.

The most excitement of the day may come when the Tigers' super-soph Geoff Petrie matches up with Columbia's McMillian. Both are good ball handlers with slick moves. They probably won't play head-to-head most of the game but there may be moments of struggle.

Princeton currently leads the League with a 3-0 record. Yale and Columbia are tied for second (3-1). Dartmouth is 2-1, Cornell 2-2, and Pennsylvania, 1-2. Harvard and Brown are fighting for the cellar with 0-3 and 0-4 records respectively.

In Cambridge, meanwhile, Harvard's beleaguered forces may get some help. Despite Coach Floyd Wilson's recent complaint to a reporter that he never gets any material, he may get some help from long-injured forward Barth Royer and presently ineligible Ernie Hardy. Hardy could put some life into the Crimson's defense and rebounding.